"I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." ~ C. S. Lewis (Yes, even politics)

In loving memory of Mr. Z

Monday, May 6, 2013

PIGFORD: Libs wouldn't listen

The New York Timesreported
Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has likely
enabled massive fraud in the Pigford series of legal settlements, in
which black, Hispanic, female and Native American farmers have claimed
to be victims of past discrimination.

The cost of the settlements, which could exceed $4.4 billion, is the
result of a process that "became a runaway train, driven by racial
politics, pressure from influential members of Congress and law firms
that stand to gain more than $130 million in fees," the Times notes.

Among those influential members of Congress was then-Senator Barack
Obama, who made Pigford payouts a priority in exchange for political
support for his 2008 presidential campaign among a coveted group of
black voters in the rural South,the Times reports. As president, Obama continued to support payouts for new groups of
claimants while abandoning a review process that had been used to fight
fraud. The aim was "buying the support" of minorities, according to the Times, while middlemen created a "cottage industry" in defrauding the government.

The Times investigation, led by reporter Sharon LaFraniere,
vindicates the late Andrew Breitbart, for whom Pigford became a crucial
issue in demonstrating the cynical use of racial politics by the
institutional left to hurt the very people they claimed to be helping.
Breitbart directed investigations of the Pigford fraud
and championed the cause of the original black farmers in the lawsuit,
arguing that many of them had been left behind while opportunistic
lawyers and fraudulent claimants looted the federal treasury in exchange
for votes and support. (Z: please read that again..it's worth learning)

The left, led by the George Soros-funded Media Matters for America, attempted for years to dismiss claims of fraud in Pigford, calling it Breitbart's "stupidest conspiracy theory." When Fox News picked up the story, Media Matters called it an attempt to attack "anti-discrimination efforts."

In fact, the 5,529-word report by LaFraniere shows that Pigford and
subsequent settlements had little to do with redressing discrimination
and everything to do with politics and greed, while the true victims of
discrimination continued to suffer in obscurity.In 2010, Breitbart was accused by the left of using a dispute with
the NAACP to disrupt Pigford funding. That motivated him to
investigate. "I had never heard of Pigford, so for the last four and half months,
all I’ve been doing is eating, breathing, sleeping Pigford, researching
Pigford, finding whistleblowers who are hiding in plain sight who have
been wanting to tell the story of how this was rigged," he told the Daily Caller in December 2010. The Times story credits Breitbart News and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for drawing attention to the issue.
LaFraniere and colleagues conducted their own, independent
investigation, "based on thousands of pages of court and confidential
government documents, as well as interviews with dozens of claimants,
lawyers, former and current government officials and others involved in
the cases over the past 14 years."
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told the Times that the
settlements opened "'a new chapter of civil rights at U.S.D.A,"
claiming that critics of Pigford and other payouts were motivated by a
"Pandora's box" of hidden racial agendas. (Z: Vilsack should be how PIGford got its name)
Yet the Times documents how Pigford became a "magnet for
fraud" across the South. "In 16 ZIP codes in Alabama, Arkansas,
Mississippi and North Carolina," LaFraniere writes, "the number of
successful claimants exceeded the total number of farms operated by
people of any race in 1997, the year the lawsuit was filed. Those
applicants received nearly $100 million." The government let many of the
fraudulent claims slip by unpunished because "the bar for a successful
claim was so low that it was almost impossible to show criminality."
Much of the fraud was enabled by the Clinton and Obama
administrations, and by members of Congress seeking to reward special
interests. Then-Sen. Obama sponsored new Pigford legislation in 2007,
while Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) threatened in 2009 to lead protests
against the administration if it did not bend to the wishes of Hispanic
claimants.
Meanwhile, whole families, including young children, filed claims for
past discrimination to reap $50,000 each in cash payouts. As yet,
Congress has failed to investigate Pigford.
That may finally change.Z: The above article is from BREITBART: I wanted to quote from the NY Times, but I figured Breitbart.com deserved the billing. Breitbart was so wronged when he revealed this fraud and was called everything from liar to racist.How many other stories had Breitbart shown this same truth and legitimate concern: How many stories today need more people like Breitbart?Did anybody see Liberal Judith Miller discussing how the White House has been shamefully stonewalling about Benghazi since it happened? And there is so much more.............

a runaway train, driven by racial politics, pressure from influential members of Congress and law firms that stand to gain more than $130 million in fees

Figures.

Libs wouldn't listen could be the headline for much of what we in the conservative blogosphere often about! We are Cassandras much of the time.

BTW, last night I watched the FNC special about abortionist Kermit Gosnell. YE, GODS! The defense attorney played the race card to "justify" what Gosnell did! Did anyone else here happen to see that report of FNC?

HERE in my opinion are the MONEY QUOTES (edited by FT with emphasis added):

“The [New York] Times investigation, led by reporter Sharon LaFraniere, vindicates the late Andrew Breitbart, for whom Pigford became a crucial issue in demonstrating the cynical use of racial politics ... to hurt the very people [the leftists] claimed to be helping.

“Breitbart directed investigations of the Pigford fraud and [Breitbart] championed the cause of the original black farmers in the lawsuit, arguing that many of them had been left behind while ... fraudulent claimants looted the federal treasury in exchange for money and votes ...”

“[T]he [New York]Times documents how Pigford became a ‘magnet for fraud’ ... ‘In 16 ZIP codes in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and North Carolina,’ ... "The NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL CLAIMANTS EXCEEDED the TOTAL NUMBER of FARMS by PEOPLE of ANY RACE in 1997, the year the lawsuit was filed.”

“... The government let many of the fraudulent claims slip by unpunished because ‘the bar for a successful claim was so low that it was almost impossible to show criminality.’”

Gosnell doesn't interest me very much. I never even knew he was black till YOU told me the other day, AOW. Of course the enemedia thinks it's unseemly -- and doubtless wicked -- to let the public know that a perpetrator is A. Black, B. Jewish, C. Hispanic, D. Indian, E. Asian, F. Homosexual, etc.

My interest in Gosnell might revive the day he is placed on a table in front of the TV cameras to have all four of his limbs severed with a meat cleaver and a butcher's knife, his genitals excised with a rusty pen knife, then shoved into his screaming mouth, to be followed by a red hot poker shoved up his å$$, and finally to have his head severed from his spinal column with a set of pincers designed to cut small limbs from trees and bushes.

After that his remains would be hacked to pieces and fed to to a rabid pack of starving hyenas.

Broadcast on national TV -- and REBROADCAST on EVERY CHANNEL 24-7 for a week thereafter -- MIGHT help act as a deterrent to future would-be mass murderers of innocent, helpless infant life.

And no, I'm not very romantic. Cutting through the crap and telling it like it is, is unpopular pretty much everywhere, AOW's blog being no exception.

Neither do I argue from a religious viewpoint or declare a thing to be right or wrong depending on what it says in some book. If I can't depend on my own brain to let me know if I'm doing harm or not, then maybe I'd turn to the priests to tell me what to do. But so far, the difference between right and wrong is still stark and obvious.

Those who end up in prisons don't do so because they don't know the difference, they get there because they stopped caring about the difference, and that includes a lot of priests.

Joe, they find anything they can on someone like Breitbart, make him look wrong and foolish, then it's easier to ignore the fact that he's just plain NEITHER of those things.You NEVER hear the insults to liberal 'talking heads' that you do to Conservatives; the left just can't take the truth and have to mock it and conceal as much as possible.

AOW...I didn't see that...playing the racial card; what else is new, right?

FT...that part got me, too...Breitbart was slammed as if he'd been racist when, typical Andrew, he was fighting FOR the cause of the original Black farmers. He fought to get to the truth of Planned Parenthood, he fought to reveal a lot of things and all he got was mockery.

Gosnell's case is said, by the left, to not be discussed in the press as much as it should be, because 'it's too gruesome' as if Casey Anthony's details of what happened to her daughter weren't gruesome, or what happened to Lacy Peterson, or what all the other truly gruesome stories.what a bunch of liars. We hear ugly stories almost every day, but let an abortion doctor murder children and the story's barely mentioned.

There is nothing JUST about the Justice Department. As in the case of Shirley Sherrod, an employee of the USDA who admitted on camera that she willfully discriminated against white farmers, and who also received a share of a multi-million dollar settlement, Pigford is a fraud of massive proportions and every responsible citizen should be incensed about this.

We need hundreds of Breitbarts, because fraud and corruption now seems to be endless. From the top, all the way down to the state run media!America is becoming a third world country, right before our eyes.

I believe that the House should refuse to appropriate any funds to shore up Obamacare. It's a disaster. Or as Senator Baucus called it, a "train wreck"!

http://www.dailypaul.com/282033/obamacare-imploding

As for Pigford, it's too late when it comes to the illegal handouts. However it's not too late to hold then candidate Senator Obama, corrupt politicians and regulators accountable.

Blacks demanding 'justice' for blacks only. Congressmen with Latino names like Menendez looking out for Latinos only...The Supremes have a "wise latino" to guarantee they get justice....and Kagan represents all fat white Jewish girls that are NOW members who can't get a date and decide that LBGT is for them.

"if your last name end in a "z or an O"...vote for me...I will set you free" ( and make sure you get all that stuff free ) is the newest campaign cry to the "aggrieved minorities.

How many believe that in 20 years when caucasians are the minority...they'll take care of us?

While it's a fact that Everyone inside the Beltway is doing better than fine...the top wealthiest counties in the country are suburbs of DC! Insulated in that glorious bubble of corruption, ignorance and malfeasance that serves them so well.

You can go back to the original Breitbart piece and follow it for what it was ... an attempt to extricate dear, dear Andrew from the fallout of the Shirley Sherrod video (one of dear, dear Andrew's class acts).It was a blatant attempt to tie Sherrod to a false claim under Pigford. In fact, dear, dear Andrew stated he only became aware of Pigford because of the Sherrod incident.

So what do we have here:

1. A genuine claim of bias. Very little argument that the Pigford claim was in fact poorly adjudicated.

2. A parcel of rogues of all shapes and sizes running to cash in on a poorly administered program. These people are acting like investment bankers.

3. Race baiting by Breitbart.

Kudos all around. I haven't been able to work the Soros angle but I'm sure he and the Koch Bros. are dipping their beaks in some corner of this fraud which seems interesting to y'all only because of the nature of the claimants.

"Did anybody see Liberal Judith Miller discussing how the White House has been shamefully stonewalling about Benghazi since it happened? And there is so much more............. "

The gates of Benghazigate are about to be OPENED WIDE as whistleblowers go before the House for questioning. They are there voluntarily and you just have to know that obimbo, hillary, and a slew of others in he administration are shitting themselves. I have a few ideas and links in yesterdays post. I just wish I had seen BZ's picture before I posted it. I was not able to navigate his site further though for some reason. The PC kept locking up. The turds listed above do not deserve CAPS and so did not get them.

Imagine that. A black female employee of the United States government brags about her racist behavior toward a white farmer, Breitbart promulgates the video, and Ducky thinks that Breitbart is the problem. This is exactly why so many people see Ducky as immoral and dishonest.

Ducky, you just don't get it, do you.You're turning even more into a hack...don't bother to think things through, just jump at the throat of anyone you hate and who disagrees with you.

it's a very typical liberal canard (perfect for you) to misread and report; the NY Times admits Breitbart was trying to HELP BLACK FARMERS WHO DESERVED THE MONEY. Do you just not understand or is this story just too darned painful for you?

You liberals screwed up the poor with the housing market, too, not telling them about balloon payments, etc. Who do you think was hurt by stupidity of liberals thinking "everyone deserves to own a home"? THE POOR.Thanks, LIberals.

The same thing would have happened to deserving black farmers had Breitbart not alerted and had somebody at the Times actually investigated with an open mine.

I just finished reading your comment and I'm laughing here..AHA, Soros is implicated and you bring up the Kochs ...Hilarious. Thanks for the illustration of everything I just said about you...truly hilarious :-)

And, really, I hate to be unkind, but you just bring out the best in me:-)

Z,Outstanding reading. I had heard of this but what I read today really fired me up but it doesn't surprise me. Politicians will stop at nothing to solidify their power. Obama was in need of more cover than most because he was the least qualified candidate. He's all flash and no substance. What a POS. As Mustang said, we don't have enough room to cover his sins.

We're seeing the Losers on a feeding frenzy now, and it's only going to build until they literally take the country down.

The losers are anyone who can find some way to call themselves a 'victim' (and that ain't hard these days unless you're white, good looking, been working and paying taxes since your 15 years old) and demand something for nothing. You a middle class taxpayer? You're the bottom of the food chain, and now you're being fed upon by parasites.

You're - we're - going to see a lot more of it. Give a loser an inch and they'll take a mile or 10. obama and crew have been giving losers an inch a day.

Now it's supposed to cost 6 trillion (double, no triple that at least) to legalize some number of millions of illegals.

This last bit, I blame on all of government. We had opportunities to do something sensical for many decades on immigration and in fact we did nothing sensical.

Of course, some Conservatives are suggesting that legalizing, or at least bringing the illegals out into the light and able to make lives here COULD provoke a lot of new jobs because many of them are apparently entrepreneurs, but I'm thinking tax revenues from that wouldn't offset the trillions it'll take.

What a MESS.

America's been a big dirty doormat saying WELCOME, AND WE'LL PAY FOR YOU, TOO for years...we can't blame either side of the aisle.

And, by the way, they're saying that illegal crossings have gone way up since the amnesty talk's been flying. #(*&@(Q#*&$*(@#&$

But the question isn't that so much (we've been used to corruption!), it's that Breitbart was shot as the messenger so many times when he was so right.

And, the left will ignore the most important part of this exposee...he cared enough about Black farmers getting messed with that he exposed the truth... but the leftwingers who hated Andrew painted it so differently.

THIS is the disgusting part of it all...even more than the obvious corruption which, apparently, lefties STILL don't understand.

Or at least we can remind people that Shillary is a liar to the core and always has been...Whitewater, Travelgate...remember lll the "I don't recalls"...hundreds of them in testimony. She's a real stinky POS...don't forget.

"We can Pray, Can't we???

Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said on his radio show Monday that President Obama “will not fill out his full term” because he was complicit in a “cover-up” surrounding the attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya.“I believe that before it’s all over, this president will not fill out his full term,” Huckabee said. “I know that puts me on a limb, but this is not minor.”

“When a president lies to the American people and is part of a cover-up, he cannot continue to govern,” he added. “And as the facts come out, I think we’re going to see something startling. And before it’s over, I don’t think this president will finish his term unless somehow they can delay it in Congress past the next three and a half years.”

Some Republicans have maintained that the administration has not been forthcoming in the circumstances surrounding the attack, pointing to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who went on Sunday news shows and argued the attacks were a spontaneous reaction to an offensive video. The administration later admitted Rice’s claim was made with insufficient intelligence, and labeled the event an act of terror."

... The government could confiscate all the assets of the Rich in America, that they amassed over decades, and in total, it would run the government for 1/3 of a year. Then what.

Most of these people are in the business of the distribution and sale of 99% of what we all not only value, but REQUIRE to live. Food, Energy, Gas, Everything House, home, and life support.

So what Then?

Yet the libtards still bleat on with their infantile Tax the Rich ! It's a mental disease. When they actually tear it all down, and destroy the greatest standard of living on Earth, they'll blame it on romney, the repubs, and most of all those racciss - domestic terrorisss tea party people who have somehow avoided having a single act of racisssm or violence appear on video anywhere. Damn those tea party people !

At least the dems are open about their racissism ! We can forgive and love them and ask for more raccisss stuff to be handed down upon us by the wonderful dems.

I'm left to wonder what the libtards are going to bring to the party. Like those women on the View who at least one of them claims the world is indeed flat.

You omitted the biggest problem...RACISM on the part of a Government program and those who...."administered" it. It was one big time racist rant against anyone who wasn't of.."color". Once more we've managed to move 100 years in reverse with grudge allegations...and undeserved reparations. How long is this crap going to continue...Obama / Holder / Van Jones and the rest of the race pimps?

THE DAILY CALLER writes:"In the wake of the release, the USDA wasted no time in forcing Sherrod’s resignation, despite the fact that Breitbart says his intent was never to harm Sherrod, but rather to expose the NAACP as a racist body.

While the partial video ended Sherrod’s career at USDA, the second half, the portion of Sherrod’s anecdote in which she explained that she learned the error of her ways, was not included in the initial video Breitbart had released. The incomplete video lost Sherrod her job and resulted in a mass demonization of Breitbart for not showing the full context of her remarks.

Since that time Breitbart has worked to understand the full story behind Sherrod’s hasty ousting and believes he has an answer. According to Breitbart, the answer lays in a piece of legislation President Barack Obama signed Wednesday — which provides $1.15 billion in funding for a case known as Pigford II. The money will be doled out in payments of $50,000 for more than 90,000 alleged black farmers as retribution for alleged discrimination on the part of the USDA."

Ducky, you are completely dishonest; alarmingly so. You were there when you constantly insulted Breitbart here for what had happened and you still are even having learned the truth.

The tapes weren't edited to hurt Sherrod because Breitbart didn't even know the extent of her transgressions. Nor would he have cared, necessarily. His whole bit was to expose the NAACP for their racism. Not anything to do with Sherrod. THAT is why he 'edited' the tape. That part of the tape, her repentance, wasn't one bit important to the point of what he was trying to expose. SHE wasn't part of what he was trying to expose. He used her remarks only to show the REACTION to her remarks by the NAACP...the response they got WAS the point.

It's terribly dishonest of you or, at least uninformed in your zeal to condemn Breitbart; and you were not alone.

FT,As far as I can recall, I've never blogged about abortion before yesterday. I do, however, occasionally post about crime, and the Gosnell case falls into that category.

Now, had a "Tea Party doctor" committed the same vile deeds as Gosnell, there would have been saturation news coverage. But there has not been saturation coverage of the Gosnell case; see THIS in the Atlantic: Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story: The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy.

By the way, please read my comment about Sherrod's comments and the editing; the editing was NEVER meant to be concealing or lying about ANYTHING...Breitbart was only using her comments to show the response she got from the NAACP and her abject racism.It was only later that he realized what she'd said ... her supposed redemption was HER problem, not the point about the NAACP.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away fromextinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must befought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day wewill spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children whatit was once like in the United States where men werefree." -- Ronald Reagan

remember

Andrew Breitbart...American Hero

Mac 'n GeeeZis my food blog...enjoy! Sorry I haven't added to it in a long while.

President Obama has done such a horrible job with the economy and foreign policy that now Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the United States :-)

important reminders:

We are surrounded by IDIOTS...Mr. Z

“Barack Obama's political genius is his ability to say things that will sound good to people who have not followed the issues in any detail —regardless of how obviously fraudulent what he says may be to those who have. Shameless effrontery can be a huge political asset, especially if uninformed voters outnumber those who are informed.” Thomas Sowell.........AMENTolerance is the last virtue of a dying society. (doesn't matter who wrote it, it's true and it's here)

The modern definition of 'racist' is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal.... Peter Brimelow

The difference between golf and government is that in golf you can't improve your lie. ~George Deukmejian

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